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With summer temperatures soaring, you might be tempted to throw a few water bottles in your car for just in case. Well, don't! Leaving plastic water bottles in your car is actually a major fire hazard.
Why leaving a water bottle in a hot car is a bad idea
Okay, so why is a liquid normally used to put out fires suddenly a fire hazard? It all has to do with science. When the sun streams through the water bottle and the liquid inside, it acts as a sort of magnifying glass. Remember when kids on the playground used to try to burn ants with a magnifying glass? The same thing happens with the water bottle. The sun's rays focus on one point and if that spot gets hot enough, flames can occur. Scary stuff!
Don't believe us? Watch it in action.
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Idaho Power put out a video, narrated by stations battery technician Dioni Amuchastegui, that shows a part of Amuchastegui's car seat starting to smoke. If you look closely, you can see burn marks as well. Fortunately, he noticed before things got serious.
“I had to do a double take,” says Amuchastegui. “It was hot enough to start burning a hole through the seat.”
Surviving summer: how to stay hydrated
What's a girl to do if she can't keep her water bottle in the car, but she wants to make sure she's hydrated during the warm summer months?
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The best option is just to carry your water bottle with you. Some containers come with handy wrist straps, but if you'd rather not have such a bulky item on your person, there's one place in the car that you can stash your bottle if you really must. Put your bottle under the seat and out of the sun's rays if you are determined to not carry it.
The more you know, right?
h/t Reader's Digest
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